Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Bogus Draft EIS

All of our arguments for changing ULURP and removing the choice of consultants from the self-serving hands of developers are magnified by the failure of usual suspect AKRP to do any kind of decent analysis in the Gateway DEIS.

It is hard to put aside their snide and factually unsupported observations about the economic significance of the Bronx Terminal Market merchants. The telling quote:

Although there are some restaurants and retailers of African foods who use the BTM, it was not their only source.

What possibly useful methodology could have led to this observation? Did the truth seekers at AKRF bother to interview the actual customers who utilize the BTM? Did they talk to the leaders of the Bodega Association, Latino Restaurant Association and various Hispanic Chambers of Commerce?

The answer: of course not. To make matters worse, these liars for hire actually said that a similar line of market products could be found with New Jersey wholesalers. Is this supposed to be an argument against the economic significance of the Terminal Market in New York? Ironically, EDC has constantly mentioned that the Gateway project is needed in part because it will stop people from the Bronx from shopping in Westchester. Yet they are perfectly content with letting the Terminal Market’s wholesale business flee across state lines.

The analysis concludes with the observation that there is 472,500 sq. ft. of ground floor industrial space in the Bronx and that, therefore, “the BTM businesses do not have a unique or substantial economic value to the city or regional area and can be relocated without any great difficulty.” This conclusion is mind boggling. Where is the space? What about the current market synergy? Etc… etc… etc…

The AKRF folks are simply rationalizing their job which is to make a great deal of money by minimizing impacts and conducting dishonest research. It is firms like this that undermine the legitimacy of the entire ULURP process and the city would be better off without their self-serving palaver.